Is anybody else getting the sense that we might finally be reaching saturation point where reality TV is concerned? Why anyone is still watching the lackluster remaining contestants battle it out on what COUNTDOWN’s Keith Olbermann has taken to dubbing AMERICAN I-DULL is beyond us, and the girls of AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL seem to be sleepwalking down the runway. Here’s hoping that when the networks roll out their reality-heavy summer lineups, they are met with a collective yawn by the audience.
Speaking of reality, we know MyNetwork TV is struggling to find an audience, but is HOOTERS DREAM GIRL CHALLENGE really the way they want to go? That’s the kind of pandering that even FOX – home of THE LITTLEST GROOM and the infamous WHO WANTS TO MARRY A MILLIONARE? – wouldn’t sink to. The two-hour fleshfest was embarrassing on pretty much every level. One highlight included the breathless hostess informing us that over 300,000 – that’s thousand, not million – people had voted to determine which wing-serving, bikini-wearing, mama-shaming beauty would grace the cover of… huh? Who even knew there was a Hooters magazine?
Anybody else remember when a typical series at least 25 episodes? LOST is cutting down to 16. THE TUDORS offers 10. Back in 1984, the sixth season of KNOTS LANDING featured 30 episodes – none of which were repackaged clipfests. Now, we’re getting less programming and more commercials… and the networks wonder why viewers are checking out in droves?